Bilqul laynay chahiyein.

In fact, ek case tou mein khud dekh rahi hoon. My professor, she's an American, woh Islam ki taraf attract ho chuki hain. She was enthusiastic about hijab and committed herself to wearing it for one complete year and MashAllah she did it and still continues to wear it. Inshallah lagta hai woh jald Islam bhi qabool ker lein gi.

Thanks for sharing this, pehli mertaba waqia sunna hai.

Nahi.

Waisay aisay qissay mein ne bhi sunnay hain kay jaisay koi cancer yaan heart ka patient tha aur continuously for certain period us kay room mein koi surah laga di jaati thi and then after sometime he was all perfect. Per kisi specific qari ki awaaz mein sunna, this doesn't appeal.

Jee. Baaki Allah behtar janay en logoon kay baray mein.

Aap nay Nouman Ali Khan kay baray mein sunna hai yaan unki videos dekhi hain? I believe hamein en qisam kay loog chahiyein jo mashrati masloon per bhi ghaor karein. Un hon nay apni ek video mein kaha tha kay aaj kal hamein sirf religious scholars nahi chahiyein as in people with just religious knowledge balkay aisay jo religious+wordly knowledge rekhtay hoon. Islam ki knowledge kay saath saath baaki subjects ki bhi. And I believe he's right, aaj kal kay zamanay mein logoon kay saath deal ker nay kay liye aisay scholars chahiyein.

Yeps, agree!

There is some kind of comparison going on here between Music & Quranic recitation. Keeping religious & spiritual interpretations aside for a moment, I'd like to add something in strict technical terms.
They say Music affects the subconscious mind through subliminal messages etc. Why is that? Well, for one, Music comprises of combination of different instruments/sounds blended together to give a collective effect making it nearly impossible for anyone to consciously tell apart each sound from the other. These different physiological triggers can leave different psychological impressions. An example can be of backmasking practice used in music. Similarly, this can be noticed in other forms of art as well, like in pictures & drawings where original message is intentionally convoluted among other things to leave it hidden & being noticed only through the subconscious mind, or in moving pictures (video) where sudden flashes of intended message are shown through different time intervals.
Such things are hardly possible when the source of the intended message is single, making it easily decipherable through conscious mind, like in the case of firsthand verbal/vocal communication between individuals. This kind of explains why musical instruments are strictly forbidden in naats & other forms of religious expression: so that the original message does not get corrupted in between other things & is conveyed properly. A hadith tells us that Music creates nifaq (root word of munafiq) in one's heart. Nifaq itself is partly forgetfulness.

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...and I am the dark of this our new day

Ah! Thanks a lot for taking time to comment here about this stuff.

The other question that I wanted to ask but didn't owing to "topic diversion" reason was this (i believe the question is relevant now ): Why is that the only type of music permitted in Islam is dafh? What I could think of when I had this question in my mind was that it might be because dafh does not have the same effects on mind (both conscious and unconscious) that other instruments do. Now, is this right or not? If yes, is it the produced sound waves that are different or exactly what that effects mind?

And what would you say about listening to Quran and the unconscious part of mind, if you have any knowledge please do share.

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Regards,
P.R.

I haven't heard his lectures. But you are right that we should have such type of Islamic scholars who can provide us both religious and worldly knowledge. Because religion is not a separate thing. Religion is very important in our daily lives.

Can you please provide the reference where it is mentioned that only Dafh is allowed in Islam?

Hazrat Syed Sarfraz Shah (R.A) ny kaha tha k Music/ musical instruments Islam ma us waqt na-jaiz hein jb un ko sun kr Insaan Allah sy duor ho jaey. Agr inhy sun kr dil Allah ki taraf attract hota hy tu phir ye Jaiz hein. Bohat sy Aulia Allah b Samaa suntay thay/hein. Un ma musical instruments b use hotay hein.

Dufh k baray ma ye baat is liay mash-hoor hy kyn k Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) k time pr ye use hota tha. Ye sb sy old musical instrument hy aur Arab ma ye commonly use hota hy. Is liay log samjhtay hein k sirf ye musical instrument use kr sktay hein aur koi dosra nhi. Meray khayal main ye saheh nhi hy. Agr dafh sun kr b insaan ka dil Allah ki bajaey kisi aur taraf attract hota hy tu phir ye b na-jaiz ho ga.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

It is one and the same thing.

Discuss man from any perspective other than the spirituality, one thing is confirmed that you will find the him the worshiper of his own benefit/apne faiday ka pujari [jald baaz]. His motivation comes from his faida. But in spirituality one does not follow his 'faida' but what is 'good'. And Muslims follow what is already 'ordained'.

I can say that your assumptions are wrong, very wrong. You have an inquisitive mind, and beyond that an experimenting mind, and you even ask for advise before you experiment and when you come out with conclusions you simply wont impose it on others. That are your enough credentials to rule out your assumptions.

I dont say that what path spirituality will follow, or that Islamic Spirituality can be 'mastered'. It is God's discretion. But He knows are capacity and ordained a clear, unambiguous path for us. Believe me there is a weak around you too, I.

Ashab-e-aqal ko chahiye kay sahib-e-khird ko saath le kar chalen.

While man's all explanations attempt to find a concrete or tangible evidence and a march towards the mastery of materials and fuels, a Muslim will continue to believe in the UNSEEN.

Believe in the unseen and continue to benefit from technology. But occupy a separate corner for listening to the recitation, as we are also advised not to dine on the table we study because we'll mess our habits, meanwhile you also need to think 'what if ipods were made unavailable'?

I have made a fatal mistake in my post above.

Now I am worrying about my erudition before I get started in participating a discussion.

Sorry, and I resign.

There is this incidence mentioned where Prophet (s.a.w) walked over to a place where girls were singing traditional marriage songs accompanied by a dafh. They stopped singing the marriage songs & started reciting naats on seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.) In response to which, he (s.a.w) asked them to carry on with what they were singing earlier. And, of course, there's this other one mentioned when the little girls of Medina welcomed Prophet (s.a.w) at the time of his migration. Talking from a religious perspective, there is no account that encourages the use of dafh as it is usually taken to be the case. It is just permitted under specific circumstances like on traditional festive occasions (marriages, eids etc.) That too, with a prerequisite that it doesn't make one oblivious to the remembrance of Allah.

You see, different criteria applies to different people according to their background (& only after all other such aspects are taken in to account as well, like their exposure to good & evil for instance) while judging them. My personal opinion is that the semantic/language barrier plays the most important role in that regard. For a person who understands Arabic well & good for instance, there will be (or should be: according to common sense) stricter penalty if he/she doesn't pay due attention to the words of Allah being recited in front of that person. Similarly, a person who has no idea as far as meanings of those words are concerned, he/she is likely to be judged according to that. Now if that person doesn't understand a thing & even then tries his/her utmost to focus his/her attention just out of sheer respect, fear or any other facet of humility, you can understand how well that person is gonna stand on those rankings if you get my drift. This, however, doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive to understand the meanings. Its somewhat similar to the case of that person in the time of Musa (A.S) who, out of his lack of knowledge, used to say that Oh Allah, if you ever visit my house, I'll serve you fresh milk & I'll comb your hair etc. Now, according to his level of understanding, he was doing pretty good don't you think? There are people who can't read but still perform wudu, open Quran, & just move their fingers over the lines. I mean they have that element of respect & humility in them which counts. There is no doubt that Quran whether read over something (like dam on water etc) or written (like talismans or taveez etc) has its certain effects or what we call barakaat but the major question at the end of the day is whether we benefit from it to the best of our abilities or not. Subconscious effect is more passive in nature. To me, one who has the abilities to consciously interpret & benefit from certain things and still passively relies on the subconscious is not optimally making use of resources available to that person.

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...and I am the dark of this our new day

@ Arain007 & tknw01

From the limited knowledge that I have, another question that sprouted in my mind is :

I don't exactly remember, but there is this incident where Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was passing from somewhere with a companion and upon hearing some musical tunes he put fingers in his ears. He never did this for dafh, for instance the two examples that tknw01 presented . That's why I wonder if there's some difference between what the sound produced by dafh and those of other instruments do to mind. Also, the popularity that dafh is "permitted". However, the fact that if dafh also deviates a person it should be avoid is also valid.

@ roijen

What "Fatal" mistake, if I may ask?

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Regards,
P.R.

Ap ny jis incident ka btaya hy, ho skta hy k Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) ny jo music suna wo kisi non-Islamic mehfil main kisi aur hi purpose k liay bajaya ja rha ho. Agr Dafh b insaan ko deviate krta hy tu phir ye b saheh nhi hy.

Wesay b ye baatain koi Aalim hi bta skta hy. Hmaray pas tu itni information nhi hy.

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

When it is obligatory to listen attentively to recitation of the Qur’aan?

Praise be to Allaah.

The scholars differed concerning the ruling on listening attentively to recitation of Qur’aan outside of prayer. There are two opinions:

1 – The first view is that is it obligatory. This is the view of the Hanafis, and some of them regarded it as an individual obligation, whilst others said that it is a communal obligation. They quoted as evidence the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy”

[al-A’raaf 7:204]

It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (4/86):

Listening to recitation of Qur’aan when it is recited outside of prayer is obligatory if there is no legitimate shar’i excuse for not listening.

The Hanafis differed with regard to this obligation: is it an individual obligation or a communal obligation?

Ibn ‘Aabideen said: The basic principle is that listening to Qur’aan is a communal obligation, because it is establishing its right to be listened to and not ignored, which is achieved by some listening attentively, as is the case with returning salaams (i.e., it is sufficient for some members of a group to return the greeting).

Al-Hamawi narrated that his teacher, the prominent judge Yahya who is better known as Minqaarizaadah, said that listening to the Qur’aan is an individual obligation.

Yes, the verse in Soorat al-A’raaf, “So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy” was revealed to abrogate the permission to speak during prayer, but what counts is the general meaning of the words, not the specific reason for its revelation, and the general meaning includes recitation of Qur’aan both during prayer and otherwise. End quote.

2 – The second view is that it is mustahabb and recommended. They interpreted the verse in Soorat al-A’raaf as referring to recitation in prayer only. Outside of prayer it is recommended and mustahabb. This is the view of the majority of scholars.

Ibn Katheer says in Tafseer al-Qur’aan il-‘Azeem (2/372):

‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas concerning the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy”

[al-A’raaf 7:204]:

i.e., in the obligatory prayer. Something similar was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mughaffal. Ibn Jareer said: Humayd ibn Mas’adah told us, Bishr ibn al-Mufaddal told us, al-Jareeri told us, that Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah ibn Kurayz said: I saw ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr and ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabaah talking whilst the storyteller was speaking, and I said: Why don’t you listen to the reminder, lest you be subject to the warning? They looked at me, then they went back to their conversation. I repeated it, and they looked at me, then they went back to their conversation. I said it a third time and they looked at me and said: That is only in prayer: “So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy”

[al-A’raaf 7:204].

This is how it was narrated by more than one person from Mujaahid. ‘Abd al-Razzaaq narrated from al-Thawri from Layth that Mujaahid said: There is nothing wrong with speaking if a man recites Qur’aan other than in prayer.

Something similar was stated by Sa’eed ibn Jubayr, al-Dahhaak, Ibraheem al-Nakha’i, Qataadah, al-Sha’bi, al-Saddi and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, that what is meant (in the verse) is in prayer.

This was the view favoured by Ibn Jareer, that what is meant is listening attentively in prayer and during the khutbah, as it says in the ahaadeeth which enjoin listening attentively behind the imam and during the khutbah. End quote.

It seems that this view is the correct one, because in order for a thing to be obligatory, clear evidence is required, otherwise obliging the people to adhere to that will clause undue hardship without any evidence for it.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked, as it says in Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (no. 197/ question no. 26):

There was a group of people travelling by car, and one of them put on a tape of Qur’aan; should they all listen to this tape, and is anyone who speaks whilst the tape is playing sinning thereby?

The answer was:

Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said concerning this verse: This applies to prayer. He said: They were unanimously agreed that this applies to prayer. Based on this, if I am next to a person who is reciting Qur’aan out loud, but I am reciting tasbeeh and saying laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, then I do not have to listen to him, rather that applies to prayer only.

But I say to the brother who put the tape on: Do not put it on when people are not paying attention, because the least that may said about that is that it is like those of whom Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who disbelieve say: ‘Listen not to this Qur’aan, and make noise in the midst of its (recitation) that you may overcome’” [Fussilat 41:26]. If you see that your brothers do not want to listen, and they are busy talking to one another, then do not put the tape on. If you want to listen to it, then there are small headphones that you can put in your ears, and you can listen to it by yourself. End quote.

It says in al-Muntaqa fi Fataawa al-Fawzaan (3/question no. 437):

Sometimes I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, to prepare food for my husband, and I want to make good use of my time, so I listen to the Holy Qur’aan either on the radio or on tapes. Is this action of mine correct or should I not do that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy”[al-A’raaf 7:204]?

The answer is: There is nothing wrong with listening to the Holy Qur’aan on the radio or on tapes when one is working, and that does not go against the words “So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent”, because listening attentively is required as much as one is able to do, and the one who puts on the tape should listen attentively to the Qur’aan as much as he can. End quote.

Favouring the view that it is mustahabb does not mean that one may be careless and deliberately fail to listen attentively to the words of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, when they are recited. Keenness to listen attentively should be the basic principle that is established in the life of the Muslim, and he should not do otherwise except in the case of work or need.

Al-Nawawi said in al-Tabyaan fi Adaab Hamalat al-Qur’aan (92):

Something that attention must be paid to and which should be affirmed is respecting the Qur’aan in cases where some of the negligent may be heedless about it in gatherings where Qur’aan is recited, such as not laughing, chatting or talking during the recitation, except in cases of necessity; obeying the words of Allaah, “So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy”; and following the example that was narrated from Ibn Abi Dawood from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), that when the Qur’aan was recited he would not talk until the recitation ended. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (no. 146, question no. 9): It is not good manners to ignore the Book of Allaah when it is being recited, even if it is on a tape.”
End quote.

And Allaah knows best.

Saudi Arabia

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May Allah grant us success! May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!